Things Fall Apart

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Recommended: Essays on the trail of tears

Shoes have many parts to them. The most important is the sole. When walking in someone else’s shoes, it’s like taking a look into their soul. You get to see what they are enduring and can get a better understanding of their life. Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart is a great example. When the white missionaries invaded the clan, they didn’t take the time to dig deep into the lives of the Ibo. This created havoc in the Ibo society. In history, there are many other instances where understanding someone before acting would have been useful. The missionaries that arrived to Ibo could’ve understood the clan if they would’ve learned the values and traditions first. In the world of Nigeria, values are everything. Men rule over women. Women care for children. Children obey parents. Most importantly, the clan obeys the gods. The white missionaries didn’t take these things into consideration. Because of their lack of effort, all hell broke loose. Leaders of the clan were not leaders anymore and traditions slowly deteriorated. Okonkwo knew high titled people would lose their prestige because of the lower class joining the Christians. “The great cannot be measured against the worthless if the worthless have disappeared.” Without …show more content…

The Trail of Tears was a series of forced relocations of Native Americans in the United States during the 1800’s. Do you think that the white settlers thought of how the Native Americans felt when they were forced to leave their homes? Or what about starting a whole new life with nothing but the clothes on their backs? They never really thought of the situation in reverse. The Natives of the New World had strong values that the white men didn’t take into account. Values included patience, attitude, sincerity, and spirituality. More Native American reservations would be running today if the settlers did not send them on the Trail of Tears and destroy reservations in the

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    Chinua Achebe?s Things Fall Apart is a narrative story that follows the life of an African man called Okonkwo. The setting of the book is in eastern Nigeria, on the eve of British colonialism in Africa. The novel illustrates Okonkwo?s struggles, triumphs, and his eventual downfall, all of which basically coincide with the Igbo?s society?s struggle with the Christian religion and British government. In this essay I will give a biographical account of Okonwo, which will serve to help understand that social, political, and economic institutions of the Igbos.

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  • Things Fall Apart Theme Essay

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    Achebe shows us a culture that is on the verge of change. Within the story we find out how the reality of change is brought upon several characters, and what their actions follow. Just like how African’s resisted the white’s over taking their country in reality, Achebe implements the same idea with the use of several characters. Okonkwo, for example, is completely opposed to the new political and religious upbringing that has come upon his clan. He feels that a real man does not change his views and beliefs for another mans views and beliefs. He see’s it as a sign of weakness. As we see throughout the novel, Okonkwo’s fear of losing his title and status, drives him further away from the idea of changing and adapting to the new religion. Achebe shows us how there will always be those that fight against the change, but in the end the stronger religion will over take and turn the others. Unfortunately for him, Okonkwo finding out his clan is converting is heart aching and he finds complete weakness in his clan. Achebe ties both themes of change and masculinity very well, and both themes support each other in every way. In reality, many Africans resisted the colonizers trying to destroy their religion, but the colonization wasn’t as severe as Achebe presented in her novel. “Groups strongly resisted the coming of European

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